Seeking Modern Social Answers in History

When we speak of Ming Dynasty history, works like Huang Renyu's 1587, A Year of No Significance often come to mind, along with the period's socioeconomic developments. Among the many Western scholars who have dedicated their careers to studying this era, Peter Brian Ditmanson, an American professor at Hunan University, stands out not just for his academic contributions, but for his unexpected journey into Chinese history studies.

An unexpected academic journey

"I come from a medical family," Ditmanson said. "My father was a doctor, and my four brothers and sister are all medical doctors. I was following the same path until I realized how little I understood about the language, culture and history of the world where I grew up."

Rather than grand ambitions, Ditmanson's journey into Chinese history started with a quiet curiosity. He was enrolled at the University of Minnesota, where fate placed him among a group of scholars specializing in Ming history.

"I didn't choose this field; it kind of chose me," he said. "But the more I studied it, the more fascinating it became. Ming society was undergoing rapid economic, cultural and social changes, globalization pressures, urbanization and shifts in communication, just like we have today. There are echoes of our modern world in theirs," he said.

This comparative lens has become one of the defining feature of his work. Ditmanson has deep admiration for the Chinese scholars in his field, whose training emphasizes rigorous textual analysis and internal historical dynamics, but he also often seeks to draw parallels between China in the Ming Dynasty and other early modern states such as Tudor England or the Ottoman Empire.

"Western scholars tend to think comparatively because our audience isn't familiar with the Chinese context," he explained. For example, international historians have to explain things that are fully understood by Chinese people such as the "literati community." In Europe, the scholarly elite were mostly clergy and often separated from the aristocracy. In China, a very large scholarly community developed around the civil service examination system. That makes the last thousand years of Chinese history uniquely structured.

Ming history more than just drama

Among the many overlooked aspects of Ming history, two themes stand out to Ditmanson. First, there's the remarkable diversity within the Chinese society during that period. According to historians, for too long, scholars inside and outside China have focused on China as a unified empire, contrasting it with the fragmented nature of Europe.

"However, we have not paid enough attention to the diversity of culture and society in China's past and present. Linguistic, cultural and social differences are a very important part of China's rich history that we need to understand better," he said.

Second, Ditmanson is captivated by what he calls a "revolution in communication" that unfolded in the late Ming era. "The printing [industry] began to have a more significant impact on all aspects of Chinese society," he noted.

Meanwhile, in his work, Ditmanson argues that the expansion of printing that happened in the second half of the Ming dynasty was similar to the growth of the Internet in our own period. "Information became more accessible, but also more chaotic. People struggled with misinformation and 'fake news' back then, just as we do today. By understanding these historical patterns, we can gain insights into our current media landscape around the world."

A timeless lesson for a fast-paced world

Now based at Hunan University, Ditmanson sees Yuelu Academy, where he teaches, not just as a relic of the past, but as a model for the future.

From his perspective, one of the most important lessons he has learned here is that education must transcend short-term thinking. Modern society is obsessed with immediate results, but academies like Yuelu remind us that we are preparing students for an unknown future. "We've always been doing that in every era, we trained young minds to face a new and different world," he said.

He believes institutions like Yuelu Academy have a unique role to play in global academia. "They encourage long-term thinking and cross-cultural dialogue, something that's increasingly rare in today's polarized climate."

In an age of rising geopolitical tensions, Ditmanson sees humanistic scholarship as a powerful tool against division.

Today, conflict and differences are emerging increasingly. However, Ditmanson firmly believes that in their classrooms and research, people uncover shared values. Every society cherishes family, community, morality and meaning. "Through the study of history and culture, we see not only our differences but also our profound similarities," he said.

Ditmanson was awarded the 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award. The Chinese Government Friendship Award is an award to commend foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China's reform and development.

As the saying goes and as Ditmanson's work often reflects, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme." And if we're paying attention, we might just find the rhythm we need to move forward together.

Source: Science and Technology Daily